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M9 sensor cleaning


Bill Allsopp

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I thoroughly agree.

 

and me too.

 

Prevention is better than cure.

 

The only thing I can add is blow out the mirror chamber ( mirror up and down) or similar space in Leica after each outing. Do with shutter closed. The idea is to get rid of junk before it migrates to the sensor.

 

Only open if there is a known problem.

 

I have had digi cams for years and never had a sensor dirt problem.

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The Lenspen company also makes an illuminating loupe with a cutout through which you can apparently use one of their SensorClear pens to get at the sensor.

I'd recommend the loupe but I have no experience with the pen gadget. Looks a bit scary. I like the Visible Dust swabs, myself.

 

By the way - getting the batteries into this loupe almost requires neurosurgical training.

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Steve's method is pretty much what I do but I would always blow dust out of the chamber before opening the shutter. If specks still persists I get the loupe out and check and have a go (very carefully) with the arctic butterfly. If that fails I will do a wet clean.

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and me too.

 

Prevention is better than cure.

 

The only thing I can add is blow out the mirror chamber ( mirror up and down) or similar space in Leica after each outing. Do with shutter closed. The idea is to get rid of junk before it migrates to the sensor.

 

Only open if there is a known problem.

 

I have had digi cams for years and never had a sensor dirt problem.

 

The best Idea is not to put junk into it! We forget,that every time we turn a lens on a plastic/polymer lens cap, a tiny fragment of the cap gets scraped of and sticks to the lens bajonet.

The moment you put it on the camera, it will get polluted by this kind of plastic dust. So take a littel bit of eclipe and a swab, and clean the bajonet. The black stuff is no grease, but polymer.

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I have had digi cams for years and never had a sensor dirt problem.

 

Set your aperture to f16 and point your camera at the plain, blue sky. You might be surprised.

 

I rarely change lenses, and only do so carefully in good environments, but still find need to do a wet-clean about twice a year. I don't know why, but even without changing lenses, cameras designed for interchangeable lenses pick up more sensor-grunge than point-'n-shoots.

 

Just like every skier should be able to wax her/his skis, and every driver should be able to adjust tire-pressure, photographers should be able to wet-clean their sensors. Although it might be a little scary at first, it's easy and safe if done properly, with less chance of doing expensive damage than cleaning a lens (some products even guarantee against damage). Even if you choose not to clean your own sensors, do it a time or two to demystify the process and add an important skill to your quiver.

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The best Idea is not to put junk into it! We forget,that every time we turn a lens on a plastic/polymer lens cap, a tiny fragment of the cap gets scraped of and sticks to the lens bajonet.

The moment you put it on the camera, it will get polluted by this kind of plastic dust. So take a littel bit of eclipe and a swab, and clean the bajonet. The black stuff is no grease, but polymer.

 

Not recommended. Eclipse dissolves fat. The bajonet is lubed with a minithin film of lubricant. If you clean it with a solvent you will have to replace it by wiping it with a cloth with a hint of Vaseline on it.

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I also would never again use those sticky pads to clean my sensor. I had a very lucky escape, when the pad split as I was peeling it off the backing strip rather than peeling it off the sensor.

 

I just keep wishing that someone would start selling wet cleaning wands that did not have a 10,000% profit mark up on them. Not sure about recovering the wands with snipped up Pec Pads - a bit of a risk to take with a precious sensor.

 

Wilson

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